Sorta like what the pig said, as it tried to shove it's way up to the federal/state spending trough. That's the mentality that needs to be corrected. (We have a $16.7 trillion federal deficit as of March 2013.)

Currently, solar isn't a practical power source financially. It is totally dependent on government subsides. Look at what ethanol (corn subsides for ethanol production) has done. It created a poor quality gasoline and has raised food costs. How many millions have been lost to bankrupted solar projects and closed down solar plants?

Compare that to: "In 2011, the three oil giants ... paid more income tax than any other American corporation. ExxonMobil paid $27.3 billion in income tax, Chevron paid $17 billion, and ConocoPhillips paid $10.6 billion.

"These huge sums gave the companies equally huge effective tax rates.

"ExxonMobil's tax rate was 42.9 percent, Chevron's was 48.3 percent, and ConocoPhillips' was 41.5 percent. These figures are higher than the U.S. federal statutory rate of 35 percent, which is the highest tax rate in the developed world.

"Income tax does not even represent half of the total taxes paid. Last year Exxon also recorded more than $70 billion in sales taxes and other duties." (from oilprice.com)